Full Length Up Trailer

I'm of the opinion that anything Pixar puts out is light years ahead of what any other animation studio, whether traditional or CG, is releasing to the movie-watching masses. Their newest offering, "Up", seems to be perpetuating that trend. And, from the looks of it, you'll even get to see it in 3-D when it's released later this year. Check out the non 3-D trailer now, and get the kids ready to go see this. You know you'll get dragged to this, but not as unwillingly as most of the time.

New Pixar Trailer - "Up"

"Up" is the latest from the CGI masterminds over at Pixar. From the looks of the trailer, it's the story of a cantankerous old man who decides to take a once in a lifetime trip without leaving the confines of his house. It looks pretty freaking great to me so far. I know I'm not a kid anymore, far from it actually, when this movie is released, I will have crossed into my 30's . . . but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy something like this. So I'm looking forward to catching this movie in the theaters next May. You should as well. Pixar keeps making great movies for all ages. When you can claim "Cars" as the low point in a film-making career, you know you're doing something right.

Opening Weekend Movies - 6/29/07

Live Free or Die Hard - This movie technically opened on Wednesday. Which totally throws me off. Why do they keep doing this. You can expect that almost all of these summer blockbusters will be opening up on weird and random days. Like "Transformers" . . . which used to be set for a Wednesday release, but now is opening up on Tuesday. Whatever. So, this movie, what can you expect? Old Bruce Willis and the Mac Guy go after some bad guys that are both threatening the nation and someone in Bruce Willis' family. Yippi-ka-yay motherfuckers.

Ratatouille - My spell checker hates this movie title. But, the latest Pixar studio release looks great. Much better than "Cars" did a couple of years ago. Or was that just last year. I don't remember. I think it was so bad that it gave me selective amnesia. This one, looks like it's back on track to "Incredibles" and "Monsters, Inc" greatness. Good luck finding a theater that isn't packed with kids when you go watch this though.

Evening - And this movie wins the "Chick-flick" of the week, since no other chick flicks are coming out. You'll find yourself in this movie if a)you're a woman or b)your woman dragged your ass to this because she's tired of seeing explosions or animated characters. Just think of it as a 20 dollar nap.

Box Office Report - Easter Suck-day

Blades Of Glory - For the second time in a row, the Will Ferrell/That guy from "Napoleon Dynamite" ice-skating movie takes the top spot. While there are funny people involved, it's not something that appeals to me. But, nevermind what I think America. Go watch this while other movies that deserve this spot flounder and end up making it harder for true quality films to be released instead of cookie-cutter crap like this.

Meet the Robinsons - Speaking of cookie-cutter crap . . . what's the recipe for semi-box office success these days? Oh yeah, sub-par CG-animated pieces of shit like this movie. Has Disney officially killed it's hand-drawn animation studio? All that talent that brought us such classic animated films like "The Jungle Book" and "Bambi" has turned into a Pixar knock-off. Why did Disney even buy Pixar? They should just let them handle the CG, and they should return to what made Disney . . . well, Disney.

Are We Done Yet - This is the most surprising debut of the weekend. What the fuck kind of world is it that we're living in when the sequel to a crappy Ice Cube movies opens with 15 million dollars. Are pigs flying? I looked outside my window right now and Los Angeles hasn't frozen over. So why people . . . why did you all collectively decide to go watch this instead of the next movie on the list.

Grindhouse - I made it a point to go watch this over the weekend. Sunday at 4:30 pm, in La Crescenta's UA theater ('cause I had a gift card), the wife and I went to go watch this. There were probably 20 other people in the theater that could easily seat over 400. All film geniuses like us. And then, for the next 3+ hours we were in cinematic bliss. Everything from "Planet Terror"s stylized and splashy gore to "Death Proof"s energetic and raw car chases/crashes was perfect. Even Tarantino's often wordy written word came through just right. And, both films had great "get the fuck out!" moments. I don't want to spoil anything for you, since, taking a look at their 11 million dollar opening weekend, you probably didn't watch it. Shame on you. It is your responsibility to watch "Grindhouse". Otherwise, it's just un-American.

The Reaping - Now this is more like it. Crappy theological-themed movies of the month always go after the good stuff. Not that I have any ill-will towards this. As far as movies dealing with supernatural biblical mumbo-jumbo, this looks way better than that Exorcist prequel that came out a couple of years ago (pick which version, because there were 2). But, Hillary Swank kind of kills it for me. Now, put Angela Lansbury in that role and she would definitely get to the bottom of it. In one hour. Just in time for my early bird senior citizen dinner. I like to digest while I watch my "Matlock".